The Rugby governing body is considering resuming Rugby competitions beginning with 7-a-side competitions next month. The development comes after the federation was given permission by the Ministry of Sport to resume competitions in line with covid-19 protocols. Like other sporting disciplines, Rugby competitions have not been held since the first case of coronavirus was discovered in Rwanda in March last year. The competitions were delayed longer than some other sports disciplines because there were high risks of spread of the pandemic among players due to the fact that Rugby is a contact sport and involves many players. Tharcisse Kamanda, the federation president, told Times Sport that they will start with a 7 aside series in October as they continue to monitor the situation of the pandemic to pave the way for the return of the 15 a-side league. “We want to start with 7 a-side tournaments with which we think we can be able to control the pandemic. We are planning a meeting on the return of the competitions for both the men and women after the green light was given,” Kamanda said in an interview. The Rugby governing body, however, will wait until February next year to bring the 15 aside tournament back to action as they look forward to seeing the covid-19 protocols made much easier to comply with by then. “Based on the current guidelines to resume tournaments, the 15 aside league would be a bit more difficult to control because the tournament requires participating teams to field many players on the pitch. We are planning to begin with 7 aside competitions and wait for some few more months to resume the national league,” he explained. To ensure that competitions resume in line with the guidelines provided by the Ministry of Sports prior to competitions resumption, Kamanda revealed that an inspection task force will be appointed during an upcoming meeting of members of RRF executive committee to do regular inspections in different teams and venues to ensure that teams are complying with covid-19 protocols so as to avoid new cases among teams. The meeting is scheduled Saturday, October 2. The task force will start doing inspections as soon as teams start training sessions.
